ECOT fighting to stay alive but options few

Heather Moran-Kuhling was crushed to hear her 3rd-grade son’s school could close next week. And like many ECOT parents and students, she is now scrambling to figure out what comes next.

“My heart breaks for the students,” said the Cincinnati mom, who home-schooled her son, and previously his older brother, while they were enrolled in the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow.

The younger boy, Carter, has attention deficit issues making it difficult for him to learn in a traditional classroom setting.

“At home we may go 12 hours but I give him the breaks he needs,” she said. “I’ve looked at other online schools but I’m not sure what I’ll do.”

For now, Moran-Kuhling and others connected to the online school wait with more questions than answers.

For starters, can ECOT, the state's largest charter school, avoid closure by either keeping the Educational Service Center of Lake Erie West as its sponsor, or finding some other arrangement?

ECOT's options may be limited.

A modification to the contract between Lake Erie West and ECOT signed in April 2017 says if the school is not renewed due to lack of fiscal management, the school must close permanently and “the school shall not enter into a contract with any other sponsor.”

A charter school must have a sponsor to operate. Apryl Morin, executive director of Lake Erie West, declined to speculate what ECOT could do to salvage the relationship but is willing to look at its proposal.

Lake Erie West told ECOT in a letter dated Wednesday that it plans to suspend its sponsorship of the school, citing concerns about the school's deteriorating finances and lack of bonding for its treasurer, which is required by law.

Ben Marrison, spokesman for state Auditor Dave Yost, said it is unusual for a bond to be revoked midterm.

“This is concerning because bonding is a fundamental requirement of public officeholders in positions of fiduciary responsibility,” he said. “It appears the decision to revoke the bond with ECOT is based on ECOT’s financial position.”

In the letter, Lake Erie West said it makes more sense to suspend the school’s operation at the end of the semester on Thursday, rather than wait until March or April when ECOT runs out of money.

Closing in the middle of a semester would cause “substantial disruption” to ECOT students, Lake Erie West wrote, and could mean ECOT employees don't get paid.

ECOT's financial troubles stem from its inability to verify the enrollment it reported to the state. The Ohio Department of Education has ordered the school to repay about $80 million for the past two school years, finding that thousands of reported full-time students failed to come close to receiving the 920 hours of required "educational opportunities" for the year.

In addition to reducing ECOT’s funding by $2.5 million per month, the department also reduced its funding by another 18.5 percent for the current school year, based on projected enrollment discrepancies. However, if the school closes the monthly payments would end, and apparently taxpayers would be out the bulk of the $80 million.

The school has received about $1 billion in tax dollars since it opened in 2000.

Rep. Andrew Brenner, R-Powell, chairman of the House Education Committee whose largest contributor is ECOT founder Bill Lager, said, ideally, the state would find a way to let ECOT students finish the school year by reducing the monthly payment.

If the school does close, “the Ohio Department of Education needs to step up to the plate," he said. "They need to be sending letters to parents, telling them their options and what resources are available. They’ve got to help these kids. ... This is a school the size of a major suburban school district. It would be like an Olentangy or Worthington closing in the middle of the school year.”

But Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, said she doesn’t see much to be gained by reducing the payment.

“What they’ve been accused of is pretty egregious, frankly,” she said. “When you see someone ripping off the state by that amount of money, there’s not much of an appetite for taking it easy on them.”

Education department spokeswoman Brittany Halpin said the agency stands ready to assist parents and students if the school closes. They can look on the department's web site for other school options listed by county under "find a school for your child."

ECOT officials sent messages to parents Thursday urging them to contact Gov. John Kasich’s office to “tell them that you need a school like ECOT,” and “ask them to stand up for you.”

The Kasich administration was key in urging the Department of Education to pursue a more rigorous attendance review that led to ECOT owing the $80 million. ECOT has sued to block recovery of the money, but has so far lost in two courts and is now waiting for an Ohio Supreme Court hearing next month.

Shortly after ECOT filed a motion with the Ohio Supreme Court in October indicating that it would run out of money by March, Lake Erie West sent a letter asking the school for an immediate remedial plan and information to allow the sponsor to “plan for possible contingencies.”

Asked to provide options to avoid mid-year closure, ECOT Superintendent Brittny Pierson cited potential additional staff cuts and possible rate reductions with vendors including IQ Innovations and Altair Management, the companies run by ECOT founder Lager that have received nearly $200 million since the school opened.

Adding to ECOT's troubles, the Department of Education informed the school Thursday that it does not qualify as a dropout recovery school. ECOT was seeking the designation, which would have significantly lowered its academic requirements on the school's annual report card.

The department said 49.4 percent of ECOT students are between the ages of 16 and 21. State law requires a dropout school to be above 50 percent.

ccandisky@dispatch.com

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